Ships In The Night
by Ms Isabella
Summary: Peter Mills and Madison Gates were friends in Paramedic School. So why do their work spouses keep trying to push them together? Final Chapter now up for your enjoyment.
1. Chapter 1

Ships In The Night

Chapter 1

The scene was a mess. A chopper had crashed on top of an apartment building. The pilot and passengers were still trapped inside, the chopper was hanging dangerously over the edge of the roof and it looked like it was going to fall over at any second. The propeller had landed about two blocks away. Fortunately, it had landed in someone's back yard. Unfortunately, it landed on top of a woman. Hermann and Otis were working feverishly to remove it from her. Mills and Brett were dealing with someone who was in the process of illegal activity and didn't want treatment. Casey was stuck in an electric box with a live wire, a kid bleeding out, and a pool of blood that the live wire was dangling very close to. Squad was on the roof trying to secure the chopper and get everyone out safely.

Ambo 10 pulled up on the scene. PIC Madison Gates put the rig in park, jumped out and headed to the back to pull out the gurney.

"Looks like a bad one."

"They're all bad Drake. That's why they're called accidents. Let's go give Mills and Brett a hand."

Four hours later, Madison and Drake had dropped off their last patient at Chicago Med. She grabbed supplies and was heading out the door when she noticed 61 backing up. She smiled. She hadn't seen Mills in forever, and she had been blessed with running into him several times during the day. She stepped aside as he and Brett brought the gurney in.

"Hey, Mills, good job," she said as they passed.

"Thanks, Maddie. Thanks for helping us out. Appreciate it."

"No problem. See you soon," she said as she exited through the automatic doors.

She unlocked the back of the ambo and shoved the box on the floor before relocking the back door. She could restock when she got back to the house.

"So, you know Mills?" Drake asked as soon as she slid her butt into the seat and started the engine.

"Paramedic school," she said as she slid the gear shift into drive.

"I thought he was running Squad over at 51."

"Something must have happened. He's a good paramedic. 51 is lucky to have him."

"So you don't know why he's not running Squad?" Drake pressed.

"Not a clue. It's not like he's on my Christmas Card list. We went to school together and that's it."

Drake nodded. "Thought you two might have had a thing."

"No, no thing."

She pulled into traffic and started back to the house. Once back in the bay, she parked and headed to the back to restock. She felt weird that Drake had been asking her about Mills. Drake must have thought everyone who went to Paramedic school together dated a classmate just because Drake had married one of his classmates. She had quit the minute she had found out she was pregnant.

Brett glanced over at Mills as she drove back to the house. "So, Maddie?" she asked.

"Madison," Mills corrected. "She'll kill you if you call her Maddie."

"You did," Brett pointed out.

"Yeah, and she probably would have killed me too, but she was on her way out the door."

Brett screwed up her face. Mills noticed it, knowing she was choosing her next words carefully.

"We went to Paramedic school together. She's PIC over at the 107," he explained.

"You two have a thing?"

"No we didn't have a thing. For all I know she doesn't like black guys."

"You forget Peter Mills, you're half white too."

"Yeah. Don't remind me. The Mills family tree needs pruned."

"She's pretty," Brett pointed out.

"Didn't notice. Too busy trying to keep patients alive."

"So, call her. Couldn't hurt to go out for a beer and catch up."

"Brett, do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Mind your own damn business, will you please?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Water bottle in hand, Madison made her way into her Zumba class. She had missed the last two because she was doing overtime. She felt bad for missing because she enjoyed the class and the people taking it with her. She also liked the instructor. She had been to many Zumba classes where the instructors looked like they were anorexic. Her instructor was a guy, which was cool. He put the class through the workout and didn't care what his students looked like. He encouraged those who were overweight and trying to lose just the same as those taking the class who were just trying to maintain.

She opened her bag and dropped a towel around her neck. She greeted her classmates and took a big slug of water.

"Hey. Madison is it?" she heard from behind her.

She turned. It was the paramedic from Mills' house. "Yes, it's Madison."

"I thought that was what Peter said." She extended her hand. "Sylvie Brett. Firehouse 51."

"51 is a great house."

"Our instructor works at 51 too. Joe drives the engine."

Madison nodded. "Funny how we all wind up in the same Zumba class, huh?"

"It is. It's a good class. I've been coming for years."

"My second one. Love it."

She glanced toward the door. She seemed to get nervous when she noticed a bunch of guys walk through the door. What seemed like a good idea earlier that day suddenly became a bad idea the minute she noticed the class filling up.

"Hey, Brett," she heard someone greet.

She lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hey, Kelly, glad you could make it," she greeted.

"You think I would miss this? No way in hell," Severide said, blue eyes twinkling and his smile growing wider by the second.

Brett nodded.

"So aren't you going to introduce me?" he asked. He found it rude that Brett wouldn't introduce him to the woman she was talking with.

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said distractedly. "Kelly, this is Madison. She's PIC over at the 107. Madison, this is Lieutenant Kelly Severide. He's the Lieutenant on Squad 3."

"Nice to meet you, Madison."

"You too, Lieutenant."

"Kelly," he corrected. "You don't work in my house."

"It's a respect thing, Sir."

"Understand. But really, Kelly is fine."

Madison nodded. "I'll try. That's about the best I can do."

Before Severide could reply, Cruz jogged to the front of the class. "OK, Ladies, let's go!" he said as he took his place to start the class.

He looked at the class and saw the whole house standing there in workout gear. 'What the fuck?' he thought. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Brett had outed him. He was never going to live this down. He wondered if he and Taylor had enough money in the bank if she needed to post bail.

He took another deep breath. He'd not do anything to hurt Brett no matter how angry he got. He was embarrassed that now the whole house knew what his side job was. He wasn't handy with contracting like Casey was, and he didn't know shit about boats like Severide. Zumba paid well, and Taylor didn't seem to mind that he taught the classes. She had her side job working in the Emergency Room at Chicago Med when she wasn't flying with UCAN. He took another deep breath. He didn't want to have to cancel class, but he wanted the members of 51 out of the class.

"Ok, everyone, class is canceled."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The collective "NO!" from the class startled Cruz. He thought for sure they would be happy to go home and not take his class.

"Ok, 51 needs to go. Everyone else can stay."

The crew from 51 voiced a very loud protest. Madison looked around. They all didn't look happy. Joe looked at his coworkers. By the looks of things, they weren't planning on leaving any time soon. He wondered if they were only going to attend this one class to jerk his chain. Still, he was planning on having a very long talk with Brett after class.

"Ok, 51 try to keep up," he called out as he started the music. If they insisted on staying, he was going to make them work for it.

Class over, Madison gulped down the water in her bottle. She wondered what was going on with the firehouse showing up for class. She wiped her face off with her towel, then tossed it into her duffel.

"Hey, Maddie," she heard from behind her. She turned. "Peter Mills, you know I _hate _being called Maddie."

"Sorry. Slipped out."

"Make sure it doesn't slip out again."

Mills made a cross my heart gesture on his chest. "So, you come here often?"

Her eyes widened. "Seriously, Mills? You really think that pickup line works?"

He shrugged.

"It doesn't. And it didn't fifty years ago either."

"Ok, so you do Zumba?" he tried again.

"I try for three times a week. Doesn't always work out though."

"It was a fun class."

"Hey, Mills, you need a ride?" Hermann asked as he passed behind Mills.

"No, thanks. I'm good."

Madison tossed her empty water bottle into her duffel. She tossed it over her shoulder. "Good seeing you again, Peter, " she said as she started toward the door.

"Madison?" he called.

She turned.

"You wanna go grab some dinner or a beer?"

"I could do that."

"Like now?"

"You hungry, Mills?"

"After a workout like that? You bet."

She smiled. "Pasta okay?"

"Pasta is more than okay."

"Great. Pick me up in an hour."

An hour later, Madison was showered and changed into jeans and a sweater with a button down underneath. She hated dressing up, so the jeans were a compromise. She wasn't sure if this was a real date with Mills, or just a hang out and have dinner thing that she shouldn't expect anything more from. Since she wasn't totally sure, she decided to not break out the killer perfume and just go with the body spray that matched her shower gel. She heard her doorbell ring and she checked her watch. Mills was right on time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Madison grabbed her coat, and opened the door. "Hi, you're right-" she stopped when she saw the person standing in her doorway was not Peter.

"Hi," Lauren said as Madison gave her a _what are you doing here?_ look. She held up a pizza.

"Pizza?"

"Yeah. I thought you might want to watch the hockey game."

"Ordinarily, I would, but I can't."

"Can't?"

"I have a date."

"A date? Don't tell me you're going out with that Marco character again?"

"No, not Marco. He dumped me for a barista. Man's a player to the max."

"Well, ok. I didn't know you had a date. I guess I should have called first," Lauren apologized.

"It just happened. He asked after Zumba."

Lauren nodded. "Maybe I should have gone to Zumba. I had tests to correct though."

"Spelling?"

"Math and English. Anyways, have a good time."

"I will. Thanks for the offer though. I appreciate it."

Lauren started to say something just as Madison's phone started to ring. Madison held up her finger.

"Hello?"

"Maddie, it's Pete."

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hi. I hate to do this, but I have to cancel dinner."

Her face fell. She was looking forward to spaghetti and wine with him. "It's ok. I understand," she said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He heard the disappointment in her voice. "It's not what you think. I'm in the ER at Chicago Med."

"ER? What the hell happened?"

"Car ran a stop light about 3 blocks from your house. Car's totaled. I'm getting checked out."

"Are you okay?"

"I think so. I just need a stitch or two. They're going to do a CT just in case. Can we try for tomorrow night? I'm assuming you're on Red Watch too?"

"I am, and yes, that's fine. Let me know when they cut you loose. I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Looks worse than it is. And the car is toast." 

"Peter, you can replace a car. You can't be replaced. A car is nothing but a chunk of metal and 4 pieces of rubber."

He pulled the phone away from his ear, then put it back. She had said some pretty heavy stuff."

"That's true," he admitted. "I'll call you soon," he said when he noticed transportation had just entered behind the ER curtain.

"Good luck."

She clicked off her phone and looked at Lauren. "That was Peter. Date canceled. He got T boned."

"I'm sorry, Madison. But you have a cheap date right here." She held up the pizza box.

"You don't mind settling for being second choice?"

"Hell no. You have the better beer in the fridge. I hope he's going to make it up to you?"

"He said he would." She opened the door and stepped aside. "Come on in. Help yourself to the beer. I'm gonna get changed."

Lauren entered the apartment. "Yes, do put your sweater on. You can't watch a hockey game dressed like Miss Country Club."

In her bedroom, Madison exchanged her button down and sweater for her Hawks Olczyk sweater. Before slipping it on, she took off her bra. She let out a big sigh of relief. She returned to the living room where Lauren not only had the pregame show on, but she had helped herself to the beer and was happily munching pizza. Madison picked up the plate Lauren had brought in, and lifted the pizza box. She selected a slice and picked up the fork. "Let me just say this. Men will never know the joy of being able to take off a bra."

Lauren gave her a glance. "That's for sure." She lifted her beer bottle. "Here's to a great game. You never know what's going to happen when those pesky little birds from Pittsburgh pop in."

"Amen, Sister! Let's go Hawks!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Peter checked his phone and found a text. He saw the name and smiled. '_Maybe this_ _time,_' he thought as he unlocked the phone and pulled up the text. He read it and frowned.

_Sorry, can't make it. Edwards called out, so I have to cover. Can we try for next off tour?_

He read the text and tossed his phone into his pocket. It had been six weeks since his date with Madison was broken because his car got T boned. They had rescheduled numerous times, but life kept getting on the way. He did an overtime shift, she did an overtime shift, she had company visiting from out of town, he took another overtime shift, she took another overtime shift, he had to do follow up with the insurance company and his primary doctor. Every time they thought they had free time, something always got in the way.

Madison hated to cancel on him again, but she couldn't leave the house short a paramedic. She was beginning to think that she and Peter were never going to go on a date. She tossed her phone into her cargo pocked and sighed. _'Maybe it's a lost cause,'_ she thought. _'Maybe we aren't supposed to date. Maybe we are just ships in the night.'_

"What's up?" Drake asked when he saw her scowling.

"Nothing. Everything. Never mind, it's complicated. Go home and hug your wife and kids."

"No, I'll stay. You go home and sleep. You took the last 3 OT's. It's time I do one."

"I already told Chief I would stay."

"And I told him to send you home. Go on, Madison. Go meet Peter for breakfast."

She looked at him. "What made you say that?"

"Look, I saw the way he looked at you at Chicago Med. He's interested."

"And you would know this how?"

"Because I'm a guy."

She snorted. "I'm going to talk to Chief."

She made her way out of the bay and down to Chief's office. After getting confirmation that Drake had volunteered to stay, she grabbed her gear bag out of her locker and pulled out her phone. She sent a text but not expecting an answer.

_Change of plans. Drake took the OT shift. Want to grab breakfast?_

Peter felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and opened the text. He read it and tossed the phone over to the passenger seat. After so many cancelations, he wasn't sure if he wanted to pursue a date with Madison or not. He sighed. He didn't have anyone he could talk to about this situation. He didn't want to talk about it with anyone at the house. Brett would tell him to go for it. The guys would give him grief. Gabby would probably understand, but he didn't want to discuss it with her. He knew he had to make a decision soon. It wasn't fair to keep her waiting.

He reached for the phone and unlocked the screen. He punched in an answer.

_When and where?_

_Stella's. As soon as you can get there? _

He glanced at the text. He smiled. Madison knew the way to his heart. He loved Stella's. It was his go to place now that his mom didn't rebuild their restaurant after the fire several years ago. He was surprised that she decided not to rebuild. She said she was tired of the restaurant business and was looking at other options.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Madison took a glance at the menu, but not really reading it. She knew she was going to have French Toast and hash browns. And bacon. A lot of bacon. She added cream and Equal to the coffee that the waitress had brought her. She checked her watch and wondered how long it would be until Peter arrived.

She felt bad for having to cancel on him so many times. He really was a nice guy who didn't deserve to have dates canceled. She couldn't help the overtime shifts though. The house needed coverage, and it wasn't fair to not take at least half of those shifts.

Peter parked his car and headed inside. He was nervous about meeting with Madison and he didn't know why. They had been through a year of intensive training together. While classmates bonded, he found himself wondering why he didn't know more about her. Maybe he just didn't listen hard enough when classmates had talked about their personal lives. He had been so focused on getting through paramedic school and into the CFD that he didn't remember many personal details. He spotted her and walked toward her booth. She saw him coming and slid out of her side to meet him. 

"Hi," he greeted shyly.

"Hi," she said.

She felt awkward. Should she extend her hand or should she just go for it and give him a hug.

"It's good to see you," he said, giving her a smile.

"You too. At last."

He slid into the opposite side of the booth and picked up a menu. She followed a few seconds later. He noticed that she had ordered him coffee. He picked up the mug and took a grateful sip. "Thank you for ordering the coffee for me."

"Welcome. I hope it isn't too cold."

"No, not at all. Just right." He noticed that she had finished half of hers. He also noticed that the other menu was tucked away and not in front of her. "Know what you're going to have?"

"French Toast," she said. "It's almost as delicious as their pancakes, but I'm not in a pancakes mood."

"Sounds good, but I'm in an omelet kind of mood."

She smiled. "Great big side of home fries?"

"Nothing better."

"Nothing but two sides of bacon."

"Oh yeah," he agreed.

The waitress appeared and brought them fresh coffee and took their orders. Peter gave Madison an amused look when she ordered an extra side of bacon. She was a bacon fiend. He wouldn't be surprised if she had a bacon tattoo. He found himself wondering if she had a tattoo. He shook his head, wondering where that thought had come from.

"Earth to Peter," Madison said, waving her hand in front of his face.

"I'm here," he affirmed.

"You looked like you went to the moon."

"No, just laughing at your love for bacon."

"Love it so much, I bought stock in Oscar Mayer."

"You did not!" he exclaimed. He looked at her face and noticed her eyes twinkling. "You had me going for a minute."

She smiled. "Gotcha."

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed it quickly. "I'll get you for that Maddie."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Promise?" she teased.

"When you least expect it," he said, smiling.

"You are so bad!"

He smiled. It felt good to have breakfast with some laughs and a cup of never ending coffee. Not to mention a gorgeous dining companion. He grew serious for a minute, wondering when he noticed she was pretty. Fortunately, breakfast arrived, so he could concentrate on eating and not letting his mind wander.

Madison noticed his face change from smiling to almost scowling. She was about to ask him if he was okay when breakfast arrived. She watched him polish off his omelet and hash browns. She was still working on her French Toast when he took his plate and set it aside so the waitress could pick it up.

"You must have been hungry," she observed.

"I was. Cruz's cooking leaves a lot to be desired."

"I take it he was on breakfast duty?"

Peter nodded. "That's why most of us had coffee. You can't screw up coffee. Much."

"Oh, yes you can. The new candidate on Truck-" Madison broke off to roll her eyes. "I swear he uses 3 beans for a quart of water."

"That's pretty bad," he agreed. "Who's your new candidate?"

"Benson. He's a good kid, but he can't make coffee."

"You think he'll make it?"

She nibbled a strip of bacon. "Not up to me. It's up to the Lieutenant on Truck."

"Nice answer."

She looked at him. "Pete, I can't get caught up in house business. It can eat you alive."

He thought of the stuff going on at 51. Newhouse's second job spilling over to the house when his car windows were broken right outside the house. Then there was the mess with Casey and Dawson and her not listening to her Lieutenant. He was trying to be supportive of her there, and Casey had all but accused them of sleeping together again. That wasn't happening because Dawson was faithful to Casey. Severide was still drinking and coming in hung over. The house was a mess. The only thing that seemed to be going right was Mouch dating the Desk Sergeant over at District 21.

"That's true," he agreed.

The waitress buzzed by and took Mills' plate after filling their coffee cups.

Madison set her plate aside after polishing off the last piece of bacon. She eyed the menu. "Dessert?" she asked.

"You spotted the Coconut Cream in the pie case, didn't you?"

"Sure did," she confessed.

"Ok, let's go for it. And after that, we need to walk it off."

She looked at him. "Walk, Hell. We can jog."

"Didn't bring my jogging clothes," he reminded.

She sighed. "Take all of the fun out of it. I was so looking forward to beating your ass."

"You think?" he challenged. "Ok, we can jog. I'll swing by the apartment and change."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They swung past Mills' apartment first. He changed, and they drove over to Madison's apartment so she could change. While she did, he glanced around. Swimming trophies, ribbons, and newspaper clippings were hanging on the walls of her living room and hallway. "You swim?" he called as she closed her bedroom door.

"Every morning," she called.

He whistled in surprise. She jogged and swam. Definitely liked to keep busy. "What do you do when you're on shift?"

"Get up an hour earlier so I can get it in."

She tied her hair up into a ponytail and added a sweatband. Five minutes later, she was back out in the hallway.

Mills saw her making her entrance. "Wow! Just Wow!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, stop!" she said as she waved her hand. "It's just spandex and a hoodie."

"Yeah, but the headband makes it extra special," he said smiling.

Before he knew what was happening, he had taken a step toward her and was pressing his lips to hers. She let out a soft moan as her arms circled his neck. Her brain refused to focus. This kiss was totally unexpected. She found herself wondering what was going to happen next, and was she ready for it? She should move, she decided. She should move and break away so he'd stop kissing her and she could think straight. It didn't happen. He broke the kiss, then started a new one. And another new one. And another. "Maddie," he whispered in her ear. "Why didn't I ever ask you out before?"

She knew the answer, of course, but she wasn't going to say it. She wasn't going to bring up their paramedic school days. She shrugged. "I'm sure you had your reasons," she finally whispered while his lips traveled to her neck. He planted soft kisses down it that made her shiver.

Mills brought her closer. He could feel her heart beating against his chest. He heard her breath coming in short spurts. She was trying to control it with no success. He looked at her. Her eyes were closed. She slowly opened them and looked at him. His brown eyes were going to kill her, she decided. They could do puppy dog in two seconds flat. For a long minute, neither one spoke, each wondering who was going to be the first one to ask the big question, and once it was asked, what was the answer going to be.

Madison took a deep breath. "I think we need to go jog," she said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As they jogged, Mills wondered if he had gone too far when he kissed Madison. She didn't seem to mind if he judged her reaction correctly. She seemed to like it.

Madison was running, but lost in her own head. Peter's kiss had knocked her off balance. He was a great kisser. She wondered again if she was ready for sex. Her body said yes, her heart said yes, but her mind and Catholic guilt ridden upbringing said no.

Mills glanced over at Madison. He could tell she was thinking about something. He stopped. She continued for about five more steps before coming to a stop and turning around.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

She nodded.

"You're off in your own world," he observed.

She walked back to him. "I am. I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"About the kiss?"

"Can't stop thinking about it," she admitted.

"Oh?"

"You're a hell of a kisser, Peter Mills."

He smiled. "So are you, Maddie."

She cringed. "You know I really, really, really hate being called Maddie. Makes me feel like I'm either 6 or insane."

He laughed. "You're neither," he assured. "I'll try to stop calling you it."

"Thank you."

He reached for her hand. "So, where does this leave us?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted.

"More than friends, obviously."

She nodded. "But I'm not ready for -"

"- We can date, and worry about sex later. If that's okay?"

"It's more than okay."

He reached out and drew her to him. He felt her arms around his waist.

She looked up at him. "So, I guess this means we're having a thing?"

"I guess so, why?"

"After the chopper crash, Drake asked if we had a thing in paramedic school. I told him no."

He chuckled. "Brett asked me the same thing."

"For real?"

"For real. I was so stupid back then. I was so wrapped up in trying to make CFD."

"And Lauren Thomas."

"Not one of my best ideas."

"Everyone's entitled to one mistake."

"And what was your one mistake?"

She looked at him. "You know why I didn't hang with anyone when we were in school?"

He shook his head.

"Because I was married."

Mills took three steps back. He really didn't know she was married. He felt his knees getting ready to give out. His stomach flipped. No wonder she wasn't ready for sex. She was married, and he had no idea.

She felt him pulling away from her. "Peter," she started.

"Madison, why didn't you tell me? You led me to believe you were single."

"I am. We divorced two years ago."

"I'm sorry, Madison."

She stared down at her Nikes. "I just couldn't take it anymore. I came home from shift and found him in bed with yet another woman."

Mills walked back to her and put his arms around her. He knew it had taken a lot for her to admit being cheated on. It also explained why she felt she wasn't ready for sex. She had to feel secure in their relationship first. "I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Madison loved his hug. Mills' arms were strong and soft at the same time. Her head felt fuzzy. She didn't understand what was going on. She stepped back. Mills gave her a questioning look.

"Madison?"

"I'm okay. I think."

"You sure?"

"Just a little dizzy. I'll be okay."

"Same."

She looked at him. "What's going on, Mills?"

"I have a theory, but I'm not sure that you're going to like it or agree."

"Try me."

"Falling in love."

She looked down at her feet. "That would be it."

"And it scares the hell out of you, doesn't it?"

She nodded.

"I won't hurt you, Madison."

"I know you won't. I just need to wrap my head around it. I wasn't expecting this."

"Nobody expects it, Madison. It just happens." He leaned in to give her another kiss.

"Um, Mills," she said in between soft lip locks.

"Hummm?"

"We really need to quit making out in the middle of the street."

He lifted his head, then realized she was indeed correct. They _were_ making out in the middle of the street. "Yeah, I guess we should take it inside, huh?"

Mills opened the door of Molly's and stepped aside to allow Madison to enter. He waved to Hermann and held up two fingers. He got Madison settled at a high top and walked over to the bar to pick up the two bottles of Zombie pale ale, and to order burgers and sides. He was hungry, so he assumed Madison would be as well. They had worked up an appetite after jogging.

"Finally got together with the PIC, I see," Hermann remarked as he set the beer on the bar.

Mills nodded. "We went to paramedic school together," he explained for what seemed like the billionth time.

"Yeah, Mills, we know."

"Brett has a big mouth."

Hermann set the bottles on the bar along with two glasses. Mills picked everything up. "Peter," he started.

Mills turned.

"Sylvie just wants you to be happy."

Mills nodded as he made his way back to the table. He looked at Madison. He was happy. He was glad that he had run into her at the hospital. Even though they had a bit of a rough beginning, he was enjoying dating her.

"Hey," she said as he set the beer and glass in front of her.

"Hey. I ordered us some dinner too."

"Burgers and mozzarella sticks?"

"And fries."

Madison practically salivated. "I love you, Peter Mills."

He smiled. "Love you too, Madison Gates."

Madison sobered. Those three words just rolled off of her tongue. She couldn't believe she had just blurted them out. And he had said them too. She sighed. _'Just what in the hell am I getting myself into,' _she thought.

They clanked bottle necks together in a silent toast. Madison looked around. It was a typical bar, but the clientele was the difference in this place. The regulars all seemed to know each other. It kind of reminded her of Cheers, only Cheers wasn't a real bar.

"Thanks for bringing me," she said.

"You're welcome. It's a great place to hang. Some of 51 own it."

"For real? That's cool that you all support them."

"We do a lot of fund raisers here. Remember when the engines crashed? We put on a fund raiser for Molina and his family."

"I heard about that. I wanted to come, but I was doing overtime. Watson's daughter was having surgery."

"She okay?"

Madison nodded. "Good as new."

"You do a lot of overtime."

"Can't leave the house short."

Mills nodded. He knew all too well about leaving the house short. He picked up overtime when it was needed as well. He always felt that if he didn't pick it up, he was disappointing Boden.

"Hey, kids, we have burgers here," Hermann announced as he set the burgers, fries, and mozzarella sticks on the table. "You guys good or do you need two more?"

"Bring us two more, Hermann. But before you go, this is Madison Gates, PIC over at the 107. Madison, this is Lieutenant Christopher Hermann, Truck 81."

"Nice to meet you, Madison. The 107 does good work."

"So does 51. And it's nice to meet you too, Lieutenant."

"Eat up you two. I'll bring you more beer," Hermann said as he turned to return to the bar.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The smell of something delicious worked its way through her nose to her brain. Eventually, the realization that food was being prepared made her wake up, sit up, and look around. The room didn't look familiar. It wasn't her apartment. She started to push the quilt out of the way when Mills appeared in the door.

"Oh, good. You're awake. Good Morning."

He carried a tray in and set it in front of her. He leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"Good Morning," she said as she looked down at the tray. "Breakfast in bed?"

"Uh huh. French toast and bacon."

She looked down at the tray again. He remembered her breakfast from Stella's. She felt a lump in her throat. "Thank you, Peter."

"You're welcome, Madison."

She looked up at him. "You're eating too, right?"

He nodded. "Mine's in the kitchen. I'll be right back."

While he went back to the kitchen, Madison added butter and syrup to her French toast. She took a sip of her coffee. Everything smelled so good, it was hard for her to wait for Peter to return.

He returned carrying his own tray, and the coffee pot.

"This is so sweet," she said as she moved to make room for him.

"You should have started instead of waiting for me."

"Be rude to start stuffing my face when you're not here."

"Sweet of you to wait."

Mills turned on the TV so they could catch up on the news while they ate breakfast. Madison breathed a sigh of relief when there were no reports of fire in the city. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she did worry about her brothers and sisters who worked Fire.

"This is nice, Peter."

"I could get used to this," he agreed.

She turned her head and looked at him, eyes wide.

"I could. But I know you're not ready yet," he explained.

"In time," she promised.

"I know you still need to wrap your head around us."

"We are a good thing," she admitted.

"Yes, we are. And we will continue to be a good thing."

"You really want this don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Don't you?"

She nodded. "I do. I just need to let it happen."

"You do."

She looked down at her French toast. She kept hearing Drake's words in her head that she deserved to be happy and that she should give Peter a chance. She realized that Drake was right. As she took a bite of her breakfast, she realized that no one had ever cooked for her before, let alone made her a romantic breakfast in bed. "Ok, I'm in."

Mills smiled. He reached to start to hug her, then realized that if he did that, there would be a big mess of breakfast dishes all over his bed. He wasn't in the mood to strip off his sheets, toss them in the washer, make a run to the dry cleaners to have the quilt cleaned, and remake everything with clean sheets and a new quilt. If he had to do that, the romantic mood would be lost. "Great! Thank you Madison."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Madison cleared the trays from the bedroom. She took everything to the kitchen and tossed them in the dishwasher. Then she went back to the bedroom. Mills looked her over and whistled. She raised an eyebrow.

"You look gorgeous."

"I'm naked."

"That's why you look gorgeous. Takes a hell of a lot of confidence to walk around your guy's place with no clothes on."

She slipped into bed beside him. "I'm cold. Warm me up?"

"I like the sound of that," he said as he bent to kiss her.

Madison snuggled next to Peter. She had never spent a whole day in bed making love before. She wondered if that was what she and Peter were going to be doing all day. She thought it would be a great way to spend one of her days off. Peter rolled over and kissed her forehead.

"Where have you been all of my life?" he asked.

"Right under your nose."

He smiled. "I'm glad I looked right under my nose," he said as he rolled over and took her with him.

She looked down at him, then bent her head to kiss his lips. He moaned. "We gonna stay in bed all day?" she asked.

"Sounds good to me, except we have to get up to eat."

"True."

"And we're past due for lunch."

"I need to swim, too."

"Guess we are getting up, huh?"

"I guess so. But we can always go to bed early."

"Madison, I like the way you think."

Madison had done her two mile homage to the pool and got out, squeezing the excess water out of her hair. She draped her towel around her neck. She made her way back to the locker room where she showered and got dressed. As she was driving back to Peter's she wondered if he had enough groceries. She did a quick stop at the store and picked up groceries.

"What's all this?" Peter asked as he saw her at his apartment door arms full of plastic bags.

"Groceries." .

He took in all of the bags. "You think we're going to get snowed in or something?"

She looked at him. "Seriously, Mills? It's July."

He smiled. "I guess that you're staying for a bit?"

"For a bit."

As they put the groceries away, Peter pulled things out and set them aside. She looked at him. "Dinner," he explained.

She nodded. She wasn't hungry because she had gone swimming. Peter set the dinner groceries in the fridge. He walked over to her and gave her a kiss.

"Missed you."

"Missed you too."

She hugged him. Peter rubbed her back.

"I know you're scared. Don't be. Just let us happen. I won't hurt you, I promise. Just trust me, ok?" he whispered in her ear.

"You'd better not hurt me, Peter Mills or I'll have to kick your butt all the way down the Miracle Mile."

He snickered. "You would, too."

"Damn straight."

He smiled. "I love you."

"Love you too."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mills made his way into 51. He greeted Squad who were sitting at their table. Capp was working the paper, Severide was shuffling the card deck, and Tony was waiting impatiently for Severide to deal.

"Want in?" Severide asked.

"Yeah, deal me in. I'll go stow my gear," he said as he headed off for the locker room.

He dropped his duffle in the bottom of his locker and returned to the squad table. Severide dealt the cards. He looked at them and slapped them down on the table. His mind wasn't on the game. His mind was on his Mother and his Sister. They both wanted to open the restaurant that his grandfather had left him in his will. They wanted him to move to Wilmington with them. He wanted to stay in Chicago because he had just been cleared for Squad again.

He sighed and picked up the cards again. He hadn't told Madison the latest. As far as she knew, the deal was they had planned to sell the restaurant. Ingrid and Elise were making an excellent case for moving, but he wanted to stay at 51. He wanted them to stay in Chicago.

"Mills are you going to play your hand?" Capp asked.

He glanced at the cards again, and took some out of his hand and tossed them in. "Give me two."

Severide dealt him two cards. He picked them up and frowned. He slid his cards into the middle. "I'm out," he said as he rose from the table.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Capp asked as he walked away.

Severide and Tony both shrugged their shoulders.

He walked into the apartment. He hadn't slept very well. He had tossed and turned all night trying to decide things. He still had no decision. He smelled bacon cooking. Madison had beaten him home and had started making breakfast.

"Hey," she greeted as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," he said as he leaned over to give her a hug and a kiss.

"Rough shift?"

He nodded as he poured coffee. "Didn't sleep."

"Me either. Got called out at 1, no sooner got back then got another one. Too many shootings last night."

He nodded as he sipped his coffee.

She placed breakfast on two plates and carried them to the table. She turned to look at him. The look on his face confirmed that she felt something was wrong. "Ok, out with it," she said.

Peter set down his mug. She knew him too well. "Mom and Elise don't want to sell the restaurant. They want to move to Wilmington and open it up."

Madison nodded. "So they're going to move."

"And they want me to move with them."

Madison walked over to him. "And you decided you're going to go."

He nodded. "I've been chasing my Dad's legacy all of my life. It's time I put it to bed."

"I understand that."

He lifted her chin. "Come with me, Madison."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"What?" she asked.

"Come with me," he repeated.

She took a step back. "I can't do that. I have a job. My family's here. I can't just pack up and move to North Carolina- " she started.

"Why not? I am."

"Yes, but your family is going with you. You're going to open a restaurant. I'd need to find an apartment and a job."

"And you'd be no more than 500 feet from the beach. You could swim in the ocean every day."

Madison looked up at him. His eyes were pleading with her to say yes."

"Come on, Madison. What do you have to lose?"

She blew out the breath she was holding. "Peter, I can't make a decision like that in a few seconds. I really need to think about it."

"Ok, think about it. But don't take too long."

"Is Madison coming with you?" Ingrid asked as she handed Peter a box.

He moved to the back of the truck and set the box on the floor. "I don't think so," he admitted.

"She say why?"

"Yeah. She has family, a job, and a life here. It's like she's blowing off us."

"She might need some more convincing."

"I get it that she doesn't want to go. I didn't want to at first either. But she's just totally ignoring this. I really don't know what to do. I'm afraid if I ask her, she'll think I'm pushing her, and if I don't ask her she might think I don't want her to go. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't."

"She'll come around."

"I hope you're right, Mom."

"Ok, spill it," Drake ordered as he and Madison made their way back to the 107 from Chicago Med.

Madison looked over at him. "Peter is moving to North Carolina."

"And he didn't ask you to go?"

"No, he asked me to go."

"So, what are you waiting for?"

Madison sighed. Of course, Drake wouldn't understand. Drake was a guy. Guys never understood.

"I'm not sure I want to move. I have too much to lose if it doesn't work out."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I have to give up my job here. I have to find a job down there. I need to find a place to live. God only knows how long it would take to find a job. And there is no guarantee Peter and I will stay together. What happens if I get all the way down there and he decides he doesn't want to date me anymore? Then I'm hosed."

"No, then you just come back and see if you can get your job back. I get it that you're scared."

"I'm not scared. I'm trying to be practical. Just seems that if he really was serious about me going with him, he would be trying harder to convince me to go."

"I see your point. Did you ask him about it?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen him. He's packing and I'm working."

"You two need to talk."

"No kidding," she retorted.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Madison parked her car and watched Peter loading up the U Haul. She watched him for a long minute. He really was leaving. She had been so positive he would change his mind.

She got out of the car and walked over to the truck. He looked up as she approached.

"Hey," he said, smiling as he jumped down off of the tailgate. He walked over to her and gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Hey," she said after he broke the kiss. "I don't want to take up too much of your time. I just came to see how you were doing."

"Still loading," he said as he gestured toward the half filled truck. "Should be done in a couple of hours."

She nodded. "I just came by to say goodbye and wish you good luck."

Peter reached out and took her hand. "It's not too late for you do come, you know."

She shook her head. "I love you, Peter, but my life is here."

He gave her a hug. "I understand. I get it that packing up and moving without a job or a place to live is a scary thing. Once I get settled, come visit and job hunt. Will you at least do that?"

"I'll think about it."

"I guess that is all that I can ask you to do then."

She nodded. "I love you, Peter, I really do."

Ingrid walked out of the house and toward the truck. Madison heard her footsteps and broke away from him.

"More for you to load," Ingrid said as she set a box on the tailgate. She glanced over at Madison. "Hello, Madison."

"Mrs. Mills," Madison acknowledged.

"I'm sorry you're not coming with us. I think you'll like North Carolina."

"Thanks for the offer. I'll come visit once you all get settled."

"We'll be expecting you. And don't worry about a hotel room. You can stay with us."

"I appreciate that." She looked at Peter. "I'll let you get back to packing. I just wanted to stop by and say goodbye."

"Not goodbye. See you later," he corrected.

"Alright then, see you later, Peter Mills."

He gave her another hug and a kiss. "See you later, Madison Gates."

After he broke the embrace, she walked back to her car and slipped inside. She started it up and drove away. She knew she would never go visit him. He would be too busy with getting the restaurant up and running to take time off to entertain her. She pulled into a parking space. Had he said four words, there would have most likely been a different outcome. But he didn't say them.

She stepped out of the car and locked it. She walked toward the bar and stepped inside. She glanced around, looking for an empty booth. She definitely felt like she needed to drown her sorrows. She walked to the bar and ordered two Cuba Libres. She took it to an empty booth and sat down. She took a sip of one of the drinks. She thought about the past year she had spent with Peter. They had a good year. Then he had to go and ruin everything by packing up and moving.

"Pretty girl like you shouldn't be drinking alone," she heard a voice say.

She looked up and noticed the stranger standing at her table. She took a sip and didn't acknowledge him.

He slid into the opposite seat.

She stared at him. "Don't recall inviting you to sit down," she said evenly.

"You didn't. You ignored me."

"That's right. I'm not in the mood to be picked up. I just want to drink my drinks in peace."

"I'm not trying to pick you up. I'm trying to figure out why you're sitting here drinking alone. I keep coming back to either your husband or boyfriend dumped you."

"Not even close, Detective."

"How'd you know I was a cop?"

"You look like one. You've put enough time on the job to make Detective. Am I right?"

He held out his hand. "You're right. Detective Marco Hernandez. Vice."

_Author's Note: Yes, I know, not the ending everyone was expecting, but not all love stories end up with happily ever after. Hopefully, Charlie Barnett will return to Chicago Fire. We can always hope. Meanwhile, please be reassured there are more Chicago Fire/PD stories to come. I'm not all tapped out yet…. _


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